Auburn City Schools Survey Form on YRS/Alternative Calendar

(A copy of the survey form is at the bottom of this page.)

General Problems with the ACS survey form:

1. The general format of the survey is confusing and is more complex than it needs to be. An appropriate survey would simply say,

Section A. Do you support the use of an alternative calendar by the Auburn City School System.

_____ Yes _____ No

Section B: If you answered "Yes" to section A, which of the following calendars would you support? Please mark a first and second choice by placing a "1" or a "2" in the appropriate spaces.

____ Calendar A _____ Calendar B _____ Calendar C _____ Calendar D

2. There was inadequate advance planning.

As a result people received inconsistent instructions about what was permitted, not permitted. e.g. photocopied surveys, number of forms that can be turned in, etc.) Also resulted in many families not receiving mailings, and others receiving several copies.

3. Sampling methods used violated every principle of good sampling technique.

The goal of a survey is to identify how a community feels about an issue. Therefore, you sample, or represent, each person in the community equally. The most egregious aspect of the sampling process was that it encouraged multiple votes by some people, but was not at all consistent about how many votes could be expressed. Some people expressed their opionion once, others as many as 3 of 4 times because of the way that the pools were represented.

Anybody interested in sampling would be outraged by the fact that a single person can vote once as a parent, once as a community member, and so forth.... IF THEY CARED TO. There appeared to be no systematic way of keeping track of how these pools were divided up, so it is impossible to determine with any confidence to what extent the outcome reflects true community opinion or the number of times special interests filled in surveys. Does the outcome reflect community sentiment or the number of times some people want to express their opinion?

4. The bias was amplified by the difficulty that some people had in expressing their vote:

Survey foms had to be hand delivered to a school system office. Offices were open at limited times, during working hours. Because of the rush job of formulating the survey, the mailing of parental surveys was incomplete (i.e. some parents did not receive survey forms).

Specific Problems with the ACS Survey Form:

Section A:

1. You cannot simply say NO! to an alternative calendar.

2. Any answer other than "Strongly disagree" implies some level of support for an alternative calendar.

Section B:

1. There is no space to mark for "Traditional Calendar only".

2. The instructions are not clear on what is and is not allowable. Can you simply put an "X" or a "1" next to "I could support Traditional Calendar" and not place a "2" anywhere else, or will that invalidate your vote?

3. Lengths for the summer under some of the calendars described are incorrect. The "Traditional Calendar" should be listed as having a 12 week summer. "Calendar A" has a summer that is 1 day less than 11 weeks. "Calendar B" has a summer that is 1 day longer than 10 weeks. "Calendar C" has a summer that is 2 days less than 10 weeks. "Calendar D" has a summer that is 2 days less than 8 weeks.

What should I do if I don't favor YRS/Alternative calendar?

We suggest the following if you are not in favor of Year-Round School,

Section A: Place an "X" in the space next to "Strongly Disagree" (any other answer implies some level of support for YRS)

Section B: Make only one choice! Place a "1" in the space for "I could support a Traditional Calendar". Do not make a second choice! (Marking a second choice implies some level of support for YRS)

GET INVOLVED in the STOP YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL CITIZENS' GROUP